Seeing therefore that these are now growâ—n into disusance reason good that their allowance bee made good againe and increased some other way In the same Parliament there was order taken for the hire of Slaters and other workemen by the day and it is ordained that their wages should bee increased from time to time according to the prices of corne and other victualls there is now no Carpenter or Slater heere which will take lesse then sixteene pence per diem for himselfe and twelue pence for his man which amounteth to vpwards of thirtie pounds per ann What reason therefore that the poore Minister who ought to be honorabilis in populo should be held to the old taxation of twenty Markes Irish by the yeere at the vttermost which commeth not to eight pence per diem for the maintenance of himselfe and all his family But the poore Vicars lot is not so good as to haue the allowance the Statute speaketh of Our horse-boies wages are not great would God our Vicars were no worse Our horse-boies haue commonly forty shillings wages besides meat drinke and lodging and foure paire of Broagues per ann How lamentable then is that which hath of late beene discouered That throughout the whole Prouince of Connaught and in sundry other Diocesses of this Kingdome the Vicarages for the most part are vnder forty and many of them not aboue fifteene shillings sterling towards all charges by the yeere But to conclude this point If any man thinke that twentie nobles or ten pounds sterling according to this Statute be at this day a sufficient and reasonable maintenance for a learned Minister of the Church and Preacher of Gods word to maintaine himselfe his wife children and family and to keepe hospitality withall and no reason will perswade him to the contrary I for my part will not bee contentious nor vse farther argument against him onely I wish him more experience and that sauing my charity hee himselfe his wife children and family might liue but one moneth according to that rate and afterwards hee bee asked what hee thought of the sufficieÌ„cy of such allowance Neither yet is this the nihil vltra of our misery for euen vnto this day as if the ghosts of those Monkes did still walke and haunt vs Ecclesiasticall liuings of all sorts are continually taken from the Church vnder colour of concelements and as if in old time they had belonged to their houses In so much that in one small Dioces namely of Elfin twenty fiue Vicarages fiue Rectories and two Prebends are found to haue beene reft from the Church by this occasion all which did anciently stand charged in the Kings bookes with first fruits and twentieth part An infallible argument that since the dissolution they haue beene in the proper vse and lawfull possession of the Church neither doe other Diocesse want their part in this calamity And to adde to our griefe his sacred Name is heerein euer vsed who of all men mortall would most abhorre it For hee that of his Princely bounty and Christian deuotion hath of his owne giuen wellnigh three hundred thousand acres of principall good land to the reuerend Bishops dignitaries and Parish Churches of the North of that Kingdome would not he much more restore the tithes to the poore Vicars of other parts if it may appeare that of right they belong vnto them doth King Iames rule his subiects by one law and himselfe by another or haue wee not yet proofe enough of his well willing to the Church This then is an euill which cannot be healed but by that mysterious and medicinable hand of the King himselfe A hand which often hath wrought and daily doth worke greater miracles and cure more running sores then this in the body of the Church and Common wealth and will not leaue this vntoucht if euer it happen to be brought vnto him But to leaue what we haue not and to returne to what we haue I haue often said and endeauoured to prooue that the Bishop is the man authorised by law to assigne the Vicars portion wherein I am not ignorant that many men may happily draw my discretion into question and condemne my iudgement in labouring thus earnestly to reuiue the memory of an old discontinued and almost forgotten point of law for what if all were granted to be law that hath beene said what profit is the Church like to reape thereby seeing that the execution thereof belongeth onely to the Bishops weake men God wot some will say for the most part in this Kingdome to hold that they haue but altogether vnable to recouer what they had Medice cura teipsum Their Lordships should doe well to recouer their owne rights first and then wee should haue some hope that they would be able to preuaile for the Vicars also True indeede the execution of this law belongeth peculiarly to the Bishops but it is as true that in this their long default it doth now as properly belong to the King For there is no doubt but that before those Acts of Dissolution the Pope as supreame Ordinarie pretended made all those Constitutions and Canons which before are mentioned for the erection of Vicarages and maintenance of the Vicars many of which were directed to sundry of our owne Bishops in England and they by the toleration of the King put them in execution from time to time and were euer iustified in their doings by the Reuerend Iudges of the land If then the Souereigne power in these Cases and both the making and execution of these lawes did heretofore belong vnto the Pope then is it manifest that the same at this day doth immediatly belong vnto the King vpon whom by way of Restitution the Parliament hath seated all the power which the Pope then vsurped in lawes not repugnant to the word of God and Statutes of the Kingdome Wherefore if the Bishop cannot yet the King can doe them right I say not by the power of his prerogatiue but by a due course and forme of Law which no man may repine at and therefore if the right may appeare to bee on their side means of recouering that right cannot bee wanting to them But bee it that they could seeke no higher then the Consistorie of the Bishop yet is not their case so desperate as some coÌ„ceiue the same to be For I haue shewed before that not only the high Court of Parliament but also the reuereÌ„d Iudges of former times which many times thwarted with Bishops in other matters yet euer assisted them in assigning encreasing and restoring the poore Vicars portion yea and pressed them oft times to this duetie when they were remisse and negligent of themselues why then should not wee hope the like from the Reuerend Iudges of these dayes whose pietie zeale and feruencie in Religion is by so much greater then was that of their predecessors by how much the Religion it selfe which these professe is better and more worthy of defence and maintenance
quatenus nisi a iurisdictione tua exemptae sâ—…t Ecclesâ—â—… supradictae praedictos excessus stuâ—eas rationabiliter emendare Et nisi praedictae personae infra tempus in Lateranensi Concilio constitutum ad vacantes Ecclesias tibi personas idoneas presentauerint extunc tibi liceat appellatione remota in iisdem ordinare Rectores qui eis praeesse nouerint prodesse This Constitution suffereth some quarrell and dispute vpon sundry points But for our present purpose Petrus Rebuff traâ—t de congrâ—… port Petrus Rebuffus saith that it issued foorth vpon this occasion Alexander the third as hath beene said had decreed that a Bishop should not admitt of the Presentee of the Monkes vnlesse they would first assigne a sufficient portion of the profits for his maintenance whereupon the Monkes would not present any Vicar at all but either left their Churches vnserued or serued them with poore mercenary Curats such as we haue hundreds here in Ireland and so the Church was worse serued and the Church-men worse prouided for then before Whereupon this Clement by this Constitution ordained That in case they did not prouide sufficient persons within the time limited in the Lateran Councill which was of six months Then the Bishop should collate by his owne authority as in other cases of laps and deuolution Excepting alwaies those Monkes which by speciall priuiledge were exempted from his Iurisdiction for with these the Ordinary was not permitted but rather forbidden to deale But Clement the fourth about the yeare of our Lord 1240. perceiuing that the aboue mentioned Constitution of Alexander the third had taken some good effect with the ordinary sort of Monkes and taking notice That the Exempt Monkes which were immediatly subiect to the See of Rome continued still to oppresse their Vicars with intollerable exactions and to make them such small allowances that the poore men were not able to liue thereon made a Decree That the Constitution of Alexander should also take place and be of force against the Exempt Monkes The words after mention made of the Decree of Alexander and of the great abuses which grew by the auarice of the priuiledged Monkes follow in this manner Nos itaque volentes super hoc c. Suscepti de praebend in sexto salubre remedium adhiberi praesenti Decreto statuimus mandamus Constitutionem huiusmodi quoad omnes patronos Ecclesiarum religiosos tam exemptos quam non exemptos alios inuiolabiter obseruari consuetudine contrariâ non obstante But all these Lawes though grounded vpon great reason were of little force to preuaile against a mischiefe which had spread it selfe so farre and rooted it selfe so deepe by custome and the redresse whereof must pinch the belley of the Monke For what effect could a bare Mandamus worke in a case of this nature there being no penaltie inflicted vpon the offender Non canis à corio facile absterrebitur vncto The Templars for they were those which most offended in this kind and which of all others were the principall occasion of these Decrees were too couetous to obey for conscience and too mightie to bee terrified with words And for mine owne part I cannot see what this was else but either a feare to displease them or else a meere mockery of the world to commaund this thing to be done and yet neither to inflict a penaltie vpon the offender nor giue authoritie to the Reformer I confesse that our Doctors and Interpreters of the Canon Law reckon this for one of the cases wherein the Ordinary had power giuen him ouer the priuiledged Monkes But neither were these such men as would giue their beards for the washing neither would the Bishops venture vpon such a point of Reformation without a more expresse warrant seeing that Kings themselues had their power in suspect and iealousie which also was in the end their bane and ouerthrow At the last came Clement the fâ—â—…t a through man in whatsoeuer he vndertooke This Pope in the Councell of Vienne in France made a Canon for the reformation of this abuse more absolute then any of his predecessors had made before him For hauing repeated the Constitutions of Alexander the third and of Clement the fourth and finding them both to bee imperfect he adiureth all Bishops Ne praesentatum aliqueÌ„ per quamcunque personam Ecclesiasticam ius C. Vt câ—nst 〈◊〉 de Iurepatr 〈◊〉 Clemens praesentandi habentem ad aliquam Ecclesiam admittant nisi intra certum terminum competentem praesent antibus per Diocesanos ipsos praefigendum fuerit coram ijs congrua de prouentibus Ecclesiae por tio assignata And knowing wel by the experience of times past what little effect a bare command was like to take with this kinde of men Hee further ordained that in case the Monkes should not make such allowance as was fit for the vses there expressed within such reasonable time as the Ordinary should prefixe Vt extunc Diocesani debeant praesentatum admittere â—â—id in poenam praesentantium ad Diocesanos ipsos potestas assignationis huiusmodi deuoluatur By which wordes both the Presentee was secured in his possession as taking it by Collation from the Bishop and the right of assigning the Vicars portion taken from the Monkes and setled vpon the Ordinary of the Diocesse And moreouer to arme him aswel with power to execute as with authoritie to command ouer the exempt and priuiledged Monkes In the end of the constitution hee addeth these wordes Ad quae omnia integraliter adimplenda nec non ad obseruationem debitae assignationis per â—â—id Diocesanum faciendae Religiosos praedictos alios quoslibet à Diocesanis ijsdem Ecclesiastica volumus censura compelli non obstantibus exemptionibus aut alijs quibuslibet priuilegijs consuetudinibus vel statutis quae circa praemissavel eorum aliquod Religiosis ipsis aut alijs in nullo volumus suffragari And this authoritie granted to the Ordinarie ouer the exempt Monkes is yet more cleere by another constitution of the same Clement and in the same Councell wherein because Abbats and other regular Prelates were wont to hold their subordinate Priories and other Churches belonging to them in their owne hands or otherwise to oppresse them with exactions or happily not presenting any at all to the Bishop for institution therefore it was ordained that in case they presented not within sixe moneths Diocesani locorum C. Vnico de suâ—ple neglige Praelato in Clement in non exemptis sua in exemptis verò Apostolica authoritate negligentiam super hoc suppleant eorundem Prioratus Ecclesias Administrationes Beneficia huiusmodi conferendo And to the end the Ordinaries might haue power in themselues not onely to supplie their negligence but also to restraine their auarice Therefore it followeth in the same Decree in this manner Eadem quoque authoritate Diocesani suffulti nullo modo permittant quòd ijdem Praelati Prioratus Ecclesias
Beneficiorum necessariò sequitur ignorantia Sacerdotum This inconuenience was long since discoured and thence it was that Alexander the third blaming the horrible couetise and abuse of the Monkes which allowed not aboue the sixteenth part of the reuenues of the Benefice for the maintenance of the Vicar addeth this as the cursed fruit of so vile a stocke that thence it came to passe Vt in illis Regionibus penè nullus inueniretur Sacerdos parochialis qui vllam vel modicam habereâ— peritiam literarum And Clement the third vpon the same occasion saith That the exempt Monkes left so small a portion to the Vicars that they were not able to liue thereon propter quod sâ—pe contingit quod non inueniuntur personae idoneae quae huiusmodi Ecclesias velint recipere sicque frequenter minus idoneis conferuntur ex quo pericula imminent animarum The reason is plaine for Honos alit artes We may flatter our selues and say That men ought to take this Calling vpon them not for any worldly respect but only for deuotion vnto God But experience hath euer proued that if there be no maintenance there will be no Ministery The saying of Demosthenes to the Athenians is sure and true Neuer looke for a man saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he who to doe you seruice will vndoe himselfe for you shall neuer finde any such And therefore we may not hope that any man will set his sonne to schoole and traine him vp in the study of Diuinity vnlesse there bee hope of wealth and honour in their age Now from want of learning in the Minister proceedeth a generall decay of all Religion Whence it was that as the learned Chiefe Iustice that late was hath obserued Le sieur Ed. Coke en Euesque de â—inchesters case out of the Ecclesiasticall Historie Iulian the Apostata hauing a purpose wholly to ruine the profession of Christianity from which himself was by transgression fallen vsed not the sword as Dioclesian and others did but tooke away the means of the Clergie knowing well that if those once failed the number of the Preachers would not long continue And that Prophecie of his wil no doubt one day befulfilled where he saith That le decaie des reuenues de saint Eglise en le fine sera subuersion del seruice de Dieu de son Religion i. That the decay of the reuenues of holy Church will one day be the subuersion of the seruice of God of his Religion For Plowden in his CoÌ„mentaries sheweth That the reuerend Iudges of England long since obserued that by the abuse of the Monkes in applying all to their own bellies and leauing nothing to the Vicars which yet as hee saith were deuised and ordained of purpose to supply the defects of the Monkes and others in the ministery seruice of the Church there crept in many abuses and hee addeth that As the reuenew of the Parish Church decaied so likewise did Preaching And this was the cause why the Emperor Iustinian was so carefull that the number of his Clergie should not exceed the proportion of meanes which was laid out for their entertainment For the end he saw would be the beggery of the Ministery whence could not choose but follow the ruine of that holy Order and consequently a finall decay of true Religion We neede not passe the Seas to seeke for proofe of this assertion What is so poore as our Clergie here in Ireland I speake not of our Prelats God increase it to them and make it ten times more then now it is But what is so deformed a sight as the face of our Ministerie which consisteth of Curats and Vicars is But withall what can be more vnlearned then they are and what can be more irreligious or lesse vnderstanding of what belongeth to God and godlines then the people is which could not be if there were men among them to teach and to instruct them For the people is as capable of instruction as any other and where they come to be informed of the truth are as zealous thereof as any Nation in the world This mischiefe is great and the iniury and iniustice whence it proceedeth is no lesse For wherefore are Tithes giuen but in consideration and recompence of preaching the word and ministring the Sacraments to those which giue them Is it a great thing saith Saint Paul if when wee sowe spirituall things wee reape carnall things Preaching therefore and other diuine seruice is the thing in lieu whereof the Tithes are payd vnto the Minister And our Lawyers affirme that Beneficium non debetur nisi propter officium What Iustice therefore that a man should part with a Tenth of all that God hath giuen him in bargaine to haue the word of God truely preached to him and yet be defrauded of that also And the worse is that the greater the Parish was and the greater the charge which it was at in this regard the worse were they serued and the lesse respect was euer had vnto them for euen as heretofore the whiter the Cow the sooner she came vnto the Altar so the fairer the Benefice the more in danger was it euer of Appropriation And as in the sacke of a citie the fairest of euery kind is soonest made a spoile vnto the souldier so in that Inuasion which the Regular Clergie made vpon the Churches the greatest and richest Benefices were the first made a pray vnto the Monkes and the poore Parishioners in stead of a man of learning and wisedome by whom they might be taught aduised in things belonging to this life and the life to come were turned ouer to bee serued by them which were scarce worthy to serue horses This saddle was put vpoÌ„ the peoples backs by perswading them that the Pope was CHRISTS Vicar here on earth and by vertue of that office had power in himselfe to dispose of all things belonging to the Church The Iesuites goe further and teach that he is Lord and master of all together But the Sorbonists at Paris aswell in their late action against them as heretofore in the yere 1429 in the case of Iohn Sarrazin a Friar predicant and at sundry other times haue opposed themselues against this vnbridled and vnlimited power of the Popes And the Churches of France by their example animate their Kings and Courts of Parliament to doe the like to withstand their vsurpation which neuer tended but to the establishing of a Monarchie in that See with the ruine of other Churches The ends which the Popes pretended in these Appropriations were Increase of Religion and Hospitalitie what good Religion hath reaped by them hath beene already shewed and as for Hospitalitie Plowden saith That Impropriations were the decay thereof especially in those places where it ought principally to haue beene kept that is in the Parishes themselues Had we liued in those daies no doubt we would not haue done as our Predecessors did but hereby are we witnesses against our selues that we are the Successours of them which did such things we haue indeede diuided the sinne with them they were the robbers and we are the receiuers they tooke from the Church and wee enioy it And I woonder that following their example we doe not feare their end To conclude If this course be legall and may be taken for the better maintenance of the poore Clergie in this miserable kingdome well and good If not God grant some other may for if none be farewell Religion and what can then ensue but the abomination of desolation in the highest places of this kingdome Which GOD forbid FINIS LONDON Printed by IOHN BILL ANNO DOM. M. DC XX.